Mechanical and morphological characteristics of abaca fiber-reinforced polymer composites with different laminate counts for potential bumper applications

M. Martijanti, A.G. Pessireron

Abstract


This study evaluates the mechanical and microstructural behavior of abaca fiber-reinforced epoxy and polyester composites with three, four, and five laminae for potential automotive-component applications. The composites were fabricated by hand lay-up followed by vacuum bagging. Void content, tensile properties, area-normalized Charpy impact toughness, and fracture morphology were evaluated using ASTM D2734, ASTM D638, ASTM D6110, and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. Five candidate specimens were screened by porosity for each laminate-count–matrix combination, the highest-porosity candidate was excluded, and four specimens were mechanically tested. The five-lamina configuration produced the highest overall average tensile strength (19.70 MPa), elastic modulus (8.88 GPa), and reported impact value (397.80 J/m²). SEM observations associated the better mechanical response with closer fiber–matrix contact, smaller voids, and fewer delamination paths. The results show that increasing the laminate count is beneficial only when impregnation and interlaminar bonding are maintained. The five-lamina configuration is therefore the most promising of the tested designs, although full-scale bumper performance, durability, and crashworthiness require separate validation

Keywords


Abaca fiber; Polymer composites; Porosity; Mechanical properties; Bumper

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.29303/dtm.v16i2.1365

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